Safety receptacle



M 25, 1937. M. o. CANNER ET AL SAFETY RECEPTACLE Fi led June 27,1936

INVENT e FF " TTORNEY Patented May 25, 1937 ATENT OFFICE 2,081,268 SAFETY. RECEPTACLE Max 0. Ganner, Brooklyn, and Alexander Duff, New York, N. Y., assignors of ones-third to Emilie Lustig, New York, N. Y.

Application June 27, 1936, Serial No. 87,712

1 Claim.

This invention relates to receptacles; It is particularly directed to a receptacle placed at the threshold-sill of an entrance door of a house for receiving 'bottles of milk or cream, or other articles; delivered to the house.

An object of this invention is to provide a receptacle of the character described, so constructed and arranged with respect to the door, that the articles inserted therein can only be removed upon opening thedoor.

Afurther. object of this inventionis to provide a receptacle of the character described which cannot be moved away'from the threshold'sill while the door is shut.

Another object of this invention is to provide in a receptacle of the'character described, having an open side adapted to be closed by a door, improved means to retain the cover thereof open, whereby articles may be inserted therein from the outside of the door, the construction being such that thecover may be snapped shut after articles havebeen inserted therein, so that the articles may not thereafter be removed until the door is opened to uncover the open side of the receptacle.

Still another object of this invention is to generally improve receptacles of the type shown in United States Patent No. 1,346,174 issued July 13, 1920 to the applicant Max 0. Canner.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a neat, compact and rugged device of the character described, which shall be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, easy to manipulate, and withal, practical, efficient and safe to a high degree in use.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the following claim.

In the accompanying drawing, in which is shown one of the various possible illustrative em-.

bodiments of this invention,

Fig. l is an elevational, sectional View of a receptacle embodying the invention, placed at the threshold sill of the door, with the door shut, with a milk bottle therein and in locked condition;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the receptacle with parts broken away to show the interior construction, and illustrating the device for maintaining the cover against closing, in dot dash lines;

Fig. 3 is apartial elevational view of the upper portion of our-improved receptacle and showing the cover in open position prior to inserting articles into the receptacle; and

Fig. 4 is a partial elevational view of the upper portion of the receptacle looking at the open side thereof, with the cover open as in Fig. 3.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, l0 designates the threshold sill oi the door ll of a house, the door being illustrated in shut position in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawing. In the draw ing, I2 designates a receptacle embodyingthe invention and comprising a base I3 and a housing M. The base may be made of sheet metal and comprises a horizontal wall I5 having at the ends thereof downwardly extending parallel symmetrically disposed flanges l6 and'l'l, the lower ends whereof are rolled inwardly as at I61; and Ila respectively. The flanges l6 and I1 serve as legs for the base, the former being positioned on the inside of the door I l and in contact with the inner edge of the sill 10, the latter being'located on the outside of the door, as shown in the drawing.

The housing 14 is mounted on the base and v10- cated on the outside of the door I I. Said housing may likewise bemade of sheet metal and has a bottom wall 19, an outer upstanding wall 20 and parallel side walls 2 l. Bottom wall 19 is fixed to the base by bolts l9a.. Arportion of the base extends beyond the bottom wall I9 and passes beneath the door. The wall 20 of housing I2 is preferably substantially aligned with the flange or leg. I? of the base l3. The inner edge of the bottom wall [9 may be rolled inwardly as at I91). The housing I4 is open on the inner side thereof. adjacent the door II, the vertical edges 2Ia. of said side walls being located closely adjacent said door. Said side walls are interconnected at the top by a strip 25 parallel to the wall 20 and having an inwardly extending flange 26 for the purpose hereinafter appearing.

Hinged to the upper edge of the wall 2|], as at 20a, is a cover 21 adapted to close the top of the receptacle and having downwardly extending side flanges 28, receiving the upper edges of side walls 2| therebetween.. The cover is also provided at the edge thereof, adjacent the strip 25, with a downwardly extending lip 29 contacting the upper edge of strip 25. Fixed to the inside of the cover, is a bracket 3|] carrying a pin 3| on which is pivoted a latch 32 having a hook 32a, adapted to engage the flange 26 for maintaining the cover in closed condition. A coilcompression spring 33 engaging an arm 34 of the latch serves to maintain the latch in engagement with said flange. When the door is open, a hand may be inserted into the receptacle and upward pressure applied to the arm 34 to release the catch whereby the cover may be opened. A handle 35 of any suitable construction may be fixed to the top of the cover.

It will now be understood that an article such as the milk bottle 31 may be placed within the receptacle and the cover then snapped shut. Thereafter the milk bottle cannot be removed from the receptacle until the door H is opened, in. which event the milk bottle may be removed through the open side of the housing, or the latch released to permit opening of the cover. Furthermore, when the door is shut and locked, the receptacle cannot be removed from the door sill due to the engagement of the flange I6 with the door sill. The space between the bottom of the door and the door sill is not sufliciently large to permit passage therethrough of the flange l6.

Means is provided to maintain the cover in open condition to permit articles to be inserted into the receptacle. To this end, there is fixed to the cover 21 a rivet or pivot pin 40 and pivoted thereto and disposed on the underside of the cover, is a member 4| preferably of angular cross-section. A washer 42 received on the rivet 40, may be interposed between the member 4| and the inner surface of the cover 21. The member 4| may be swung inwardly against the adjacent side wall 2|. When in such position, the cover may be snapped shut. However, upon swinging the member 4| to the dot dash position shown in. Fig. 2 of the drawing, said member will engage the lip 29 of the cover and project therebeyond, thus maintaining the cover in open position. As shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing, the outer end of the member 4| is interposed between the lip 29 and the strip 25, thus preventing the cover from being snapped shut.

At night the receptacle I2 is placed in position at the threshold sill ID with the member 4| in the position shown in Fig. 3. The door is then shut and locked. In the morning the milkman may swing the cover upwardly and insert the milk bottle 31 into the receptacle. Thereafter the member 4| is swung by the milkman to the full line position thereof, shown in Fig. 2, and the cover snapped shut. Thereafter the milk bottle cannot be removed from the receptacle until the door II is opened in the morning. When the door is opened, the receptacle may be removed from the sill.

It will be understood that other articles may be inserted into our improved receptacle, the milk bottle being shown only for the purpose of illustration.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in. which the several objects of this invention are achieved, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new our desire to secure by Letters Patent:

In a receptacle provided with a base having downwardly extending flanges and a housing on said base having an upstanding front wall, a pair of side walls, said housing having an opening at the side thereof opposite said front wall, a cover hinged to the upper edge of said front wall, said cover having downwardly extending flanges on both sides, each of said flanges being in a plane normal to said front wall, a spring latch member pivoted to the underside of said cover, a strip connecting said side walls adjacent the upper edges thereof, said strip extending across said opening, said latch being adapted to engage the under edge of said strip, a rivet extending through said cover, an angular member of a depth less than each of said flanges having one end thereof pivoted on said rivet for pivotal movement in a horizontal plane, said member being positioned on the underside of said cover and being of a length to project beyond the outer edge of said cover when in a plane at right angles to said front wall to be interposed between said cover and said strip, and to be wholly confined Within the space defined by said cover and flange-s when moved from said aforementioned plane to a plane at an angle to either of said side walls or said front wall.

MAX 0. CANNER. ALEXANDER DUFF. 

